Visiting Taj Mahal is on the itinerary of almost every visitor to India, and so it was on ours. We were planning our journey across India, our first vacation postcovid, and Celine's first time to India. Looking at all the cities we would visit, we eked out a 2 day - 1 night stopover at Agra (the city where the Taj is situated) to feast our eye on the beautiful Taj. Now that we knew the dates, it was time to find the perfect hotel for our stay in Agra, hopefully something with a view of Taj from the hotel room. Imagine waking up to the outlook on the Taj, now that would be something isn't it?
Searching on booking.com, we realized not many hotel rooms privileged from this scenery, but there was this one hidden gem which had the perfect outlook on the monument, just like we were looking for. This gem, known quite widely across India, is the Oberoi Amarvillas, a unique hotel situated adjacent to the gardens of the Taj Mahal, and has unobstructed view of the Taj, with nothing else but the greenery in between us and the monument of perennial love.
On our arrival day, driving to reach Oberoi was the first positive surprise we encountered, we had to be on the guest list for the taxi to be allowed on the road leading up to the hotel, since it's situated in a no-car zone
surrounding the Taj. Few wheel spins later, we rolled into the lavish courtyard of the hotel, and checking into our hotel room, welcomed by the most courteous hotel staff. The moment we stepped into the hotel waiting room, we were blown away by the view across the gargantuan windows, beyond which the Taj glistened under the spring sun. I held my breath and enjoyed the rose water offered by the hotel staff, reluctant to move to our room, but alas, had to!
Arriving at the room, we opened the door, to be led into a corridor next to anspacious irresistible bath, testing our restraints to not be lounging in it already! Pressing forward, the bedroom exuded of royalty, with the most comfortable mattress and heritage-styled sheets. I was almost too fond of the balcony drapes to press the button which would pull them aside to reveal the balcony and the view aside. At Celine's behest, albeit begrudgingly, I followed through, only to be awe-struck once again. This time, the view of the Taj seemed too unreal, because it was right across the balcony private to us. For a few stunned minutes of silence, we just watched, until our growling bellies reminded it was time to enjoy the beautiful bath and then relish the savory delicacies on the menu.
The restaurant had variegated international cuisines in its offering. Celine settled for a sandwich, while I chose the most delicious Indian lamb specialty. While waiting for the food, we had a pleasure to chat with the hotel staff, who were friendly and relatable to our own lives which was thoroughly enjoyable. When the food arrived, we were already drooling over
it, and instantly started digging in.
We couldn't wait to explore the sprawling lawns enveloping the hotel property, dainty as they were, exuding traditional Indian heritage from every square inch. At the centre was an azure swimming pool, which unfortunately was closed due to Covid rules, but left us yearning for a dip. The sun was almost setting over us, casting beautiful light over the entire setting and driving colorful reflections from the waters of the pool. We lounged near it, and couldn't take enough of this beautiful setting we were in Agra.
Our balcony awaited us with an amazing view of the setting sun on the Taj, while we enjoyed sipping champagne, taking some photos, and taking a moment while breathing in the vistas. We were so lucky to be celebrating our love next to the monument that embodied love, while the birds put on a special show for us.
The day unwinded rather quickly, and we had a gym appointment, our bodies were rusty for a week of no workout, and the hotel's gym provided an exclusive escape (thanks to Covid, this was a private experience for us, since only 1 guest group was allowed at once in the gym) to us to get ourselves back into shape.
Back from the gym, we stepped into the room, just to see many little surprises. The hotel staff had left a meticulous array of little gifts for us, for example, lens cleaning kit, a card showing tomorrow's weather, a pillow menu, so we could have a comfy sleep, and the television screen with a personalized welcome to "Mr Keshav Singh and Ms Celine Provins". This just couldn't get any better. Winding up some work on the desk, we finally tucked ourselves in the bed.
Early next morning, at 520 AM we were up, to receive the wake-up reminder from the hotel staff at 530 AM, to finally visit the Taj. We were gleeing with excitement, this is something we had been thinking about since a few months. Celine asked what would be appropriate wear, I replied, a dress and scarf would be perfect. And then we left the room.
Hotel called a golf caddie which drove us to the Taj, screechingly stopped next to the entrance, and we stepped out, one of the first ones to step into the West Gate of the Taj today. We walked into the walkway revealing the gargantuan gate which offered a sneak peak to the Taj through its entrance seeming small when juxtaposed next to the giant gate.
No other monument across India is as recognizable and as resplendent as the Taj, and when we walked through this gate and laid our eyes on it, we finally realized why. Its sheer size and beauty dominated the entire landscape, and it just sat there, while humans seeming tiny scurried around it, can't be helped but be bewitched by it. We inched closer to the Taj, crossing the gardens in between us, where multiple birds sang and squirrels scurried about.
The sun was nearly rising, casting its first rays on the Taj, which lit the gems on the side of the monument on fire, the reflection glistening and blinding our eyes, such was a beauty to behold. We walked around, exploring every beautiful corner of the monument.
Returning back to the gardens, which were overrun by the little chimps, we enjoyed along with their seemingly funny morning escapades, while we noticed some caretakers refining some marbles to repair some of the stones on the monument. We had spent 5 hours just reveling the sunrise hours around the Taj, experienced its various morning moods, however at 10 am the crowds were growing, and the heat gaining ferocity, hinting us to move on.
On the way back, we enjoyed a hearty meal at a local joint, and went back to the hotel room, to have a final look at the Taj, and to organize our bags for leaving.
We packed our bags and came down for check-out, which was as seamless as the check-in. We had an engaging chat with the hotel manager, while we waited for the taxi to take us to the train station where we would then board the train to our next destination - Jaipur.
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